Leveling your layout in a perfect world. . .

I decided it was time to level the bench work. I have been dreading this since we have completed 95% of the bench work (I still have a cross brace to add to the corner module.) In a perfect world, a model train layout would be built on a slab of granite that has been leveled and surfaced by laser calibration. Then, the bench work would be constructed of chromium-nickel steel machined to aerospace tolerances. This perfect "high tech" bench work would be secured to the granite floor and the bench work would be laser leveled.

Well, this is the real world and you work with wood that is susceptible to bending and warping due to temperature and humidity. You also have to work on a garage floor (in my case) that is not perfectly level and that starts to angle down at the entrance to help with water drainage. On top of all this, we are using a Dewalt Chop saw and a Stanley tape measure that does not measure with the accuracy of a micrometer. If you cut a board to within +/- as 1/16 or 1/8 of an inch, you are doing pretty good. There are all types of errors and inconsistencies that stack up and have to be compensated for by leveling. Fortunately, there are some simple ways to level your benchwork. . .

First of all, the legs for our layout were built using 2x2 boards cut to 36" in lengths. I was going to cut the legs to 48" but I realized that this was way too tall for Megan. We are all tall in our family, but not that tall. A 48" layout height would be impractical for children. To aid in fine adjustment of the legs, we installed adjustable SoftTouch® Furniture Glides produced byWaxmann Consumer Group. These furniture glides are super handy - You simply drill a hole in the bottom of the leg and tap the glide in place. To adjust, just tighten or loosen the pad into the leg - very simple and effective.












However, becuase of the slight down turn at the entrance of the garage wood shims needed to be used along with the furniture glides. . .












































A 3' carpenters level was positioned along the length and width of the benchwork to determine how close to level we were approaching.
































It took about one and a half hours to level the bench work. It's not perfectly level but it is as close as we can get. Once you get one portion of the layout level, another section goes out of level so it becomes a game of patients. As I said in my first blog, being patient is super important for me in building this layout. If we "do it right" the first time, we will have a well running layout that will bring many years of enjoyment.

Peace,

Sean
sean@twinimaging.com